Long-Term Infrastructure Program Letter Report: January 27, 2023 (2023)
Chapter: MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
January 27, 2023
Mr. Shailen Bhatt
Administrator
Federal Highway Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Administrator Bhatt,
The Committee for the Review of Federal Highway Administration Infrastructure R&D Program met in person on November 29–30, 2022, in Washington, DC, to review and discuss the progress of the Long-Term Infrastructure Performance (LTIP) program with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) LTIP staff. The LTIP collects long-term performance data on the condition of bridges and pavements that are valuable for guiding decisions regarding the design, maintenance, repair, and replacement of vital transportation infrastructure assets. Although FHWA’s infrastructure research and development (R&D) is considerably broader than the LTIP, the LTIP and closely associated activities in the FHWA Infrastructure R&D Program are the focus of this committee’s efforts.
The committee provides an ongoing review of the LTIP based on annual meetings with FHWA staff and stakeholders. Its specific charge is to “advise the FHWA Infrastructure R&D Program regarding priorities in terms of the technical tools and products that state departments of transportation [DOTs] need to maintain and improve the performance of their pavements, bridges, and other structures.” The members of the committee are listed in Appendix A. The committee is supported by two Expert Task Groups (ETGs)—one each for the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program and the Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program components of the LTIP. Members of the two ETGs are listed in Appendix B.
This report on the 2022 activities and future program direction is organized into four sections. The first section provides the committee’s main conclusions and recommendations from the meeting. The second section provides a brief background on the LTIP. In the third section the committee provides a brief summary of the principal activities of the LTIP over the past 12 months that were reported during the meeting and developed in preceding meetings of the Pavement and Bridge ETGs. The fourth section provides the committee’s assessments and detailed recommendations regarding these activities, which are substantially informed by input from the Pavement and Bridge ETGs.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In the committee’s letter report of January 30, 2022, which covers program progress during 2021, the committee recommended the development of a high-level strategic plan to focus LTIP efforts and help build collaborations with U.S. state DOTs in collecting performance data. The meeting held with the LTIP team on November 29–30, 2022, was useful for the committee to
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